The feeding frenzy of the sharks is reaching fevered pitch as the blood in the water brings excitement to the obese rich. The sight of progressive liberals flailing haplessly, trying hopelessly to protect the poor, tired, huddled masses from the brutality of their bite is a vision of sweet satisfaction. The obese can see their dream world coming together. Soon nothing will be able to stop complete corporate rule in every sphere of life. Their dream, everything and every one a commodity to be bought and sold, used, abused and tossed away, is our nightmare. It will be many decades before America has its "Egypt moment." It will be our grandchildren who will light the fire that smokes away the sharks. Our task, in the meantime, is to rescue who we can, and to do whatever we can to soften the bite of the vicious.
Over the last three years our state budget has been slashed by $6 billion. Much more is on the way as education is set to be pummeled, over 137,000 are on a wait list for the Basic Health Plan which is set to be downsized, our elders are set to lose in-home services, our children are set to lose early childhood education, the mentally ill are set to lose financial assistance, and the homeless are dead men standing. The obese rich do not care for the sight of the economically anorexic. They hope that in time the unworthy will be completely removed from sight.
Part of the script that helps austerity to become a plausible option is the complete lack of thoughtful analysis by our media. Under corporate rule everyone is owned so that what is publicly discussed is filtered through the interests of the ownership class. What's good for the obese is good for all.
What never gets taken seriously is the truth that in an age of shrinking revenues, rather than kill off the commonwealth maybe it's better to sabotage segregated wealth. Maybe the rich ought to be made to pay for the benefits they have accrued.
For example, we can end the B&O tax exemption for bank mortgage deductions, and the exemption for investment and earnings of non-financial firms. That would gush over $500 million back into our system. We could end the out-of-state exemption on coal, and the sales tax exemption on interstate commerce, and the exemption for security brokers, and for custom software, and non-organic fertilizers and sprays. That's another $900 million. Soon we'll be talking real money.
But not a word will be taken seriously. The obese porkers get fat on this grizzle. They don't mind when government helps them. They only mind when government actually tries to care for its people. I doubt that I'll live to see my grandchildren's Egypt Moment. But I intend to leave them many matches for their inheritance.